By 2007, sales could reach nearly $1.3 trillion in kiosk transactions. Self-service kiosks are a growing trend in retailing that is expected to accelerate five-fold in sales during the next two years. By 2007, sales could reach nearly $1.3 trillion in kiosk transactions, something savvy convenience store, truck stop and travel plaza operators need to

Marketers tend to give a lot of counter space to novelty lighters, but BIC warns that long-term profitability comes from repeat sales of traditional products. That novelty lighter that emits a powerful flame might make for an interesting conversation starter, but it’s not the best way to grow long-term profitability in the lighter category, warns

Canastota, N.Y.-based Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes knows how to make an entrance. Just before it opened its Taft Road locationthe 85th store in the chain and the fifth ground-up location with the new store design introduced more than a year agostore personnel visited about 125 local businesses with “welcome baskets.” “We got a list

Valero found a solution for its stores ice situations while uncovering an invaluable tool for relieving hurricane stricken refineries It would have been hard to predict how fortuitous the meeting of Valero Energy Corp. and Follett Inc. would be after the North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers (NAFEM) conference in New Orleans a few

New Sun Stop prototype appeals to women, elderly shoppers. Getting more stores and giving better customer service are two tried-and-true ways to boost c-store profits, so when Southwest Georgia Oil Co. (SWGO) decided to grow its business, both tactics made the short list. But a thirdand much less conventionalapproach seems to be working even better:

Wilbur Curtis blends technology with simplicity in its G3 Concept Series Primo Cappuccino machine. With fuel prices soaring and instore margins shrinking, hot beverages have emerged as one of the most profitable sections in the convenience store. With a price point usually not much more than a regular cup of coffee, cappuccino sales are helping

Premium products driving the moist smokeless tobacco business, U.S. Smokeless Tobacco said. An influx of deep-discount products is leading retailers to change the way they merchandise moist smokeless tobacco (MST) products, and experts are concerned that these changes are adversely affecting moist smokeless profitability. As the deep-discount segment has grown in volume, it is compressing

Advances in technology enable efficiency while providing an attractive return on investment. Self-service ordering kiosks have been in use for more than four years. The reasons for their staying power are many, but the bottom-line is that kiosks please both c-stores and their customers. Can you imagine being able to take multiple orders, simultaneously? That’s

Advances in technology enable efficiency while providing an attractive return on investment. Self-service ordering kiosks have been in use for more than four years. The reasons for their staying power are many, but the bottom-line is that kiosks please both c-stores and their customers. Can you imagine being able to take multiple orders, simultaneously? That’s

Wayne Moser, Town Pump Food Stores Wayne Moser studied electrical technology with the hopes of gaining employment in the oil fields in Western North Dakota or Eastern Montana, where he had always dreamed of moving. Unfortunately, the oil boom era was slowing down just after his college years, which made it difficult to find employment

Fresh off its acquisition of Good Time Stores in El Paso, Texas, Alon USA’s President and Chief Executive Jeff Morris sat down with Convenience Store Decisions to get his take on the changing face of the convenience industry and to share his perspective on what differentiates his stores in the marketplace. CSD: What is the

Carwash dollars compensate for shrinking gas profits. Remember when convenience stores and gas stations used to give a free carwash with the purchase of a full tank of gas? Now, shrinking fuel margins are causing an increasing number of store operators to look to carwash sales to boost the bottom line. According to the International

As New Jersey faces its fourth excise tax increase in four years, retailers are watching their dwindling tobacco sales head across state lines. Every state has its own issues to deal with, but it seems that New Jersey has been dealt a particularly difficult hand. “New Jersey is a difficult state for convenience stores to

Finding the right ice machine can turn the dispensed beverage business into one red-hot category. Ice and ice delivery is a vital part of a convenience and/or gas store’s inventory. Whether it’s used to complement selfserve beverage systems, for sale as bagged ice or within the store for icing down beverages and food displays, ice

It can easily be argued that refrigerators are the most critical piece of equipment in your kitchen. No matter what type of foodservice operation you run, you need refrigeration. Keeping food at the proper temperature without using too much energy is essential to food quality, food safety and your bottom line. Before you buy, there

Minimizing risk is key to maximizing fuel profitability. The post-Hurricane Katrina era is presenting a flood of challenges for uneasy marketers at the most inopportune time. Competition from multiple retail channels has never been greater, credit card fees are eating away store profits and fuel supply is being called into question forcing pump prices to

Japan’s FamilyMart, whose Famima convenience store brand is attracting an upscale clientele in Southern California, readies expansion to several new markets and New York City may be on the agenda. With the experience of operating 12,452 convenience stores worldwide, Tokyo-based FamilyMart Co. felt the time was right to take on the complex U.S. market. So

Fuel Hedging: Aggressive or Moderate? Face-off is a regular feature in Convenience Store Decisions that gives retailers, suppliers and consultants an opportunity to debate the issues affecting the convenience store and petroleum industry. Have an idea for Face-off? Contact John Lofstock at 201-845-2468 or via email at jlofstock@penton.com. Aggressive:Philip J. Baratz, C.T.A.President, Angus Energy Inc.

Just two months after Convenience Store Decisions was first to announce details of Tesco's foray into the U.S. market, we were able to get an exclusive tour of FamilyMart's operations in Southern California with Shiro (Sho) Inoue, president and CEO of Famima Corp., the Japanese retailer's U.S. subsidiary. Inoue's candid interview, part of our "2006

A great display of food will stop customers in their tracks. Here’s what you need to know to buy merchandising equipment that will make your food look irresistible. Not too long ago, food-merchandising equipment was limited to a few grocery store-type cases from only a few manufacturers. Today, there is a wide range of quality

A new breed of supercookers promise to cook food faster than you ever imagined. Here’s what you need to know to buy a unit. When you hear the term “fast food,” most don’t think of fresh, elaborate food that’s prepared quickly. But that’s changing. Manufacturers have recently developed and continue to refine equipment for high

Retailers report strong sales and profits in OTP boosted by cigars. According to the National Association of Convenience Stores’ 2006 State of the Industry (SOI) report, retailers can expect the other tobacco (OTP) category to keep on growing with flavored cigars driving that growth. Cigar sales last year jumped 5.2% and accounted for 30.48% of

For a channel centered around serving blue-collar, 18- to 35-year-old men, how can it evolve to attract the finer sex while not alienating its existing customers? It’s no secret that women are a mystery. Ask any man who has ever tried to figure out how to attract a woman or make her happy. Many thought

With its focus on meeting the demand for quick, quality foodservice solutions, the Pennsylvania retailer enlisted the help of Merrychef’s accelerated cooking ovens. Being one of the top foodservice providers in the convenience store industry requires more than a commitment from foodservice managers and store personnel. It demands vision, innovation and, perhaps most importantly, the

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